Along the way, there was a sharp barrier of gravity that stretched 1 kilometer and reached 45 times gravity. It only served to slow down Axel though.
The entrances were spaced around 100 meters from each other, each unadorned and unassuming.
Are they trials?
If so, it seems that I should enter them in order starting from the one marked with one line.
And so, he started trying walking to the third trial, what's the worst that could happen?
Entering the third trial was easy, all he had to do was walk inside. But there was a problem with that. His body was not used to its weight, so every motion mistakenly used a lot more force than what the motion should have used.
Running there was not much of a problem because all he had to do was run normally. The speed was the only thing that changed, not the amount of force used.
So Axel tried stepping as gently as possible to overcome this minor hurdle. Instead he flew into the wall, causing pain, but no real injuries, just a couple bruises.
The wall, of course, had no changes.
Seems my resilience has also increased tremendously.
The training felt even more worthwhile and made Axel create a mental reminder to increase the intensity when he got back.
Its benefits were so immense that there was no reason to go back.
He could even move to the barrier since its gravity was even stronger.
Moving back to the attempt to soften his step, he tried again but, he was now thrown into a tree with the same outcome.
It was only at noon, when his body was covered in bruises and minor cuts from branches, that the first "normal" step was achieved. It was still quite big and looked as if someone stomped the ground with all their strength, but it didn't launch him anymore.
A small celebration took place, he chose to eat a full fruit instead of just half, it even seemed sweeter as the juices gushed out of its crimson interior.
He savoured the joy of success and the succulence of the fruit, but it was time to try the hardest trial, again, what's the worst that could happen?
The inside was massive, but still nothing compared to the colossal temple, each wall was carefully filled with illustrations, not aimed at beauty, but practicality, guiding the plain figure through a process which the young man could barely begin to fathom.
Axel looked up, the ceiling appeared endlessly tall, radiating a feeling that reminded the boy of an old memory concerning him sneaking out again, he couldn't help it, and reaching the city gates, just to see the nigh infinite expanse of trees, each towering above him, making him feel truly small
At the other end of the trial was an hourglass, as tall as the ceiling itself, and imposing in its own right. The material it was made of reminded Axel of his sword, only even more pure and indestructible.
As he looked at the hourglass,it slowly turned upside down, as if flipped by the air itself.
How long is this trial?
Sand started trickling down as the most bewildering thing happened.
He found himself waking up outside the trial zone with the weirdest sensation.
It felt like a wave swept him.
Only the wave wasn't water,
It was hard to remember what he saw as it lasted only a fraction of a second.
It was an innumerable amount of beings, each made of stone, each wielding a weapon from the same material.
Swords, spears, bows, claws, staffs, sickles, needles, stilettos and so much more.
He'd even seen what looked like fire soar towards him and a volley of arrows that resembled torrential downpour.
Then it hit him, the fire seared, the arrows punctured, the weapons slashed and stabbed, and even the creatures? No, beings trampled him with their bodies.
It was like how sand acts like a liquid when in large quantities.
While contemplating this, the experience finally caught up with his mind and a gut wrenching pain erupted from every inch of his body, turning him into a helpless worm for the day, left to contemplate just how stupid his newest idea was.